How to Prepare for Your Hair and Makeup Trial

Find the look you LOVE for your big day.

So you found a hair & makeup artist that you like and it’s time to set up the hair & makeup trial. You have an appointment with the artist and you want to make sure  you get what you came for. You need to be thrilled with the end result. 

To ensure everything goes well, COMMUNICATION is key! Make sure to have pictures with you of what you are looking for as far as your hair & makeup. You can try and describe the look you want as well as you can but everyone has a different interpretation of what natural is, glam, smokey, curls, waves, messy updo, and so on. It can be several pictures so we can discuss together what would be best for you!

When finding pictures, it’s  helpful if the people featured in the photos have a similar hair or eye color as you do. Hair will look a lot different on a highlighted blonde than someone with black hair.  Also if the hairstyle you like has a lot of hair and you have short thin hair, it will not look the same. The same goes with makeup. Makeup looks different on someone with blue eyes than brown. 

Makeup Trial Preparation:

For your makeup tell your artist about what you wear daily. Do you wear a lot of makeup normally? Maybe you never wear makeup? Is your skin oily or dry? Most common being oily T-zone. Do you like shimmer, glitter or more matte makeup? Do you want the emphasis to be on your eyes or your lips?

The biggest challenge for makeup artists is a client that never wears makeup. So anything we do seems to be too much a lot of the time. We do try to keep is as natural as possible in this situation. But we also want it to last, and we also want it to show up in pictures. Have you ever taken a picture of yourself when you feel you have too much makeup on? The pictures do not look like it’s a lot. The lighting of the camera takes away so much so you do need to do a bit more to achieve the look you want in the photos. 

Have you been contemplating having airbrush or traditional makeup? A trial is a great time to try it. Airbrush is not for everyone. Some love it, some not so much. Airbrush gives you a matte, flat finish. It does not move. It gives you the look of flawless skin without wearing a lot of makeup.  Talk with your artist about airbrush if it is something you are interested in. I find some artists love it, others not so much. It really depends on your goals and look you are going for. 

Hair trial preparation:

With hair, most everyone benefits from extensions. Hair extensions need to be human hair. Synthetic ones will melt with heat. Extension help with fullness, length and can help hair hold. Even people that have a lot of hair benefit from using extensions in a lot of cases. I like to recommend extensions that are already wavy if you are wearing your hair down, as that will help the hair curl. Curling chemically straightened hair will fall a lot faster. 

Do you have hair that never holds a curl? You may want to consider wearing the hair up to ensure the style lasts. We like to think we can defy the odds. In most cases we do. But to feel secure that it will hold when a curl normally falls out, you can’t go with with an updo. There are down styles that pins the hair now and days so it looks like the hair s down but it is all pinned and will hold. Please wash your hair the night before the trial. Slightly dirty hair does hold better. Please don’t come with wet hair as this takes extra time drying before you can start styling. Discuss you hair texture with your artist. Does it frizz fast? Does it not hold a curl? Any information you can tell the artist will help them use the right tools to achieve the long lasting look you are looking for.

A trial is a ROUGH DRAFT!

You are not getting married that day. The purpose of the trial is to find what you like and what you don’t. Just like your wedding dress, what you were thinking for your hair & makeup may not be what you end up liking. When you look at yourself at the end of the trial, communicate with your artist what you like and what you would change. They can make changes. You may love it when you leave the trial, go home and look again to find you want to make some changes, that is completely ok! I find that 80% of clients that have a trial make some kind of change. That’s the purpose of the trial. 

Without communication, we can’t achieve the look you have dreamed of. There has been quite a few times a client has left, said they were happy and nothing they would change then I don’t hear back from them. Come to find out it’s because they didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings and didn’t know how to say, “Can we try this?” Your artist wants you to be excited about having them be your artist for your wedding. They want to job! This will not happen if you leave unhappy. The artist will not be able to correct what is wrong if they are told everything is great. In my years of doing hair & makeup I now don’t let a client leave a trial until they say they LOVE it or it’s Perfect. “Do you like who you are marrying? No. I love them. Well then you need to LOVE the way you look!!!” If they leave and don’t end up using our services, it was out of our control, I did all I could do cause they gave no indication they were not happy.

I have noticed through the years that some clients have multiple trials lined up before they have ever had a trial. A trial costs time and money. With communication and a well-reviewed, reputable artist that has a portfolio you like, you should not need another trial. The only other trial you may want is if you change your mind on your look and want to try something else. 

I would also highly recommend wearing white to the trial.

What color dress are you wearing on your wedding? Chances are a shade of white. Your makeup will look different in White that it would in another color. So to get the full effect, white would be great.

Are you wondering when should I have a trial?

This is kinda a trick question. You want to have a trial before you book your artist but you want to wait until closer to the wedding or when you have somewhere to go to use the hair & makeup? The problem with this is, most artists cannot secure the wedding date until they have a contract & deposit. So you wait to have the trial, contact the artist and the artist is now booked.  You can put the deposit & contract down to secure the artist & date then you can do the trial whenever you would like. I personally prefer a trial a month or two before the wedding. This way the bride has a more clear vision of the look they are going for. They also have their accessories or an idea of what they want. I find that brides that want a trial far in advance tend to change their mind and want another trial closer to the wedding.

Most people try to have a trial on a weekend or when they are having their bridal shower or engagement shoot. This sounds great but…. Weekends are hair & makeup artist busiest times with weddings. Schedules with weddings can change. There are a lot of artists that will not book trials on the weekends due to this. They don’t want the client to get bumped because the wedding of another client. The wedding is our top priority as I am sure you would want to be our top priority on your wedding day. That being said please try and be flexible with the trial timing. We also have a lot of destination brides that are only in town for a couple days and are trying to fit in a trial. We try our hardest to fit it in. 

What to Bring to the trial:

• Pictures of what you are looking for as far as your hair & makeup.
• A picture of your wedding dress. This can help guide you to finding the perfect look for the dress.
• Any hair accessories you have.
• Hair extensions if you have them. 

Do I have to have a trial?

In my opinion, no, a trial is not mandatory. You can share pictures with your artist of yourself and what you are looking for. Allow extra time on the wedding day to make any changes needed. We do this a lot. 

That being said, if you are unsure about what look you are going for, You want to see how a look looks on you, or just want to put yourself at ease knowing what you will look like on the wedding day, I would recommend it. This gives you the chance to get a better feel of what you want on the wedding day. You will see how the makeup wears and how the hair holds. 

Can I bring friends to the trial?

I prefer when there is no more than one or two others that come for the trial. This is because everyone has his or her opinion. The look should be what YOU want for your big day. Not what everyone else wants.  Multiple different opinions at a trial tends to stress the bride out. We want it to be a relaxing experience where you can reflect on what YOU want.